Kawasaki should be looking at bringing the price down of the Ninja 400 if it expects to have any bit of sales momentum
Kawasaki Ninja 300 has endured a topsy-turvy run in the Indian market and it started the current financial year by selling just two units in April 2018. As was the case the following month, as Kawasaki was left to ponder a different strategy. With June and July recording zero sales, several rumours emerged stating that the Ninja 300 would be discontinued in India as the bigger and more advanced Ninja 400 was introduced in April 2018.
However, Kawasaki had other ideas as the Ninja 300 entered local assembly with a substantial price drop of over Rs. 60,000 compared to the original price of Rs. 3.6 lakh (ex-showroom). With high local content, the Ninja 300 saw its price reduced to Rs. 2.98 lakh (ex-showroom) with the biggest advantage being the addition of dual-channel ABS system in July 2018.
The deliveries of the locally-made Ninja 300 began in September with sudden spike in sales growth by 613 percent as 228 units were retailed. After 28 percent jump in sales the following month, as much as 118 units were sold in November 2018 with 321 percent YoY sales increase.
While the Ninja 300’s sales is on a right path due to the local content and price drop, the Ninja 400 with its exorbitant price tag is suffering the same fate as its smaller sibling. At Rs. 4.69 lakh (ex-showroom), the Ninja 400 is Rs. 1.71 lakh and Rs. 1.20 lakh costlier than the Ninja 300 and Yamaha YZF-R3 respectively.
Last month, zero units of the Ninja 400 were registered as the Ninja 650 and Versys 650 make for a better buying case. It implies that the Kawasaki should really consider localising the Ninja 400 in India if it is intended to have a future. It has been well-received globally and acted as a replacement for Ninja 300 in several markets as well.
It gets powered by a 399 cc parallel twin cylinder liquid cooled fuel injected DOHC engine, which is good enough to produce a maximum power output of 49 PS at 10,000 rpm and 38 Nm of peak torque delivered at 8,000 rpm. It is connected to a six-speed transmission.